Music director Shantanu Moitra has begun 2025 with a bang. On January 4, his multimedia concert production Songs Of The River Ganga was held at Mumbai’s Jamshed Bhabha Theatre. It traced his 2,700-km bicycle journey along the river from the Gangotri in Uttarakhand to Gangasagar in West Bengal. Now, he has been commissioned to compose the theme song for the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF), which is celebrating its silver jubilee from January 25 to February 2.
The original piece, which will feature some leading musicians, aims to encapsulate the enduring spirit of the festival, reflecting its journey and the emotions it evokes among both artistes and audiences. In an interview, Moitra speaks about the KGAF theme song, and other projects he has been involved in.
Excerpts from the Interview:
How did the KGAF anthem come about?
Basically, Brinda Miller (honorary festival director) has been a friend. She told me that KGAF is completing 25 years, and wondered if I could do anything for them. I immediately connected with the idea. The Kala Ghoda area and festival have always been special to me. When I left Delhi and came to settle down in Mumbai, I made it a point to attend the festival on at least one day. When I got this opportunity, I felt I must give something back to the place which has given me joy year after year.
What is the song about?
See, I always found the name Kala Ghoda unusual. So even in the anthem, I am using the words Kala Ghoda as a metaphor for something unusual. It also signifies beauty and a sense of power. I also think most artistes are unusual. They don’t really fit in. But they believe in themselves. It’s true with every art, be it music or dance or painting. The anthem is thus about believing in oneself. Soundwise is celebratory and folkish. The next thing was who it should feature. In the past, some of the biggest names had performed at the festival, from Zakir Hussain and Amjad Ali Khan to Remo Fernandes and Indian Ocean. So I decided to create a song featuring all musicians currently available, with each person singing or playing one or two lines.
And which artistes will be part of this?
As we speak, there are many who have said yes. There are singers Usha Uthup, Shaan, Rahul Deshpande, Kaushiki Chakraborty, Papon, Javed Ali and Mame Khan, sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan and his sons Amaan and Ayaan, violinist Ambi Subramaniam, guitarist Rhythm Shaw and drummer Gino Banks. A few more will be added. The lyrics have been written by Aalok Shrivastav.
That brings us to your recent show Songs Of The River Ganga. How was it different from the Disney+Hotstar docu-series which first traced your journey along the Ganga?
I didn’t bring in the film at all. I had the cycle from that journey placed on stage, but I was telling anecdotes about my experience. The best thing was that barring Bombay Jayashri, all artistes who were part of the series were there at the show. Sid Sriram, Mohit Chauhan, Kaushiki, everyone came. So it became autobiographical with everyone narrating their experiences. Apart from songs from the series, they also sang another song which I had asked them to warm up with while shooting. Sid Sriram sang a song his mother taught him. Taba Chake sang in his Nyishi language. Kaushiki comes from a lineage of handloom weavers, and her father Pt Ajay Chakraborty used to practise paltas as per the handloom time cycles. I simulated that on stage and Kaushiki and Ambi Subramaniam did a piece based on that. I now want to take this show to other cities.
You’ve done concept shows earlier. One was based on your journey of the Himalayas, and another was themed around the Chandrayaan moon mission. There was also Dawn At Midnight with Gulzar saab to celebrate 75 years of Indian independence. What inspires such ideas?
The thing is that I started doing music as a hobby. It so happened to become a profession, but because I treat it as a hobby, I still want to do new things. I believe that a lot of music can be discovered and created outside of the studio, if one just gets inspired by the nature surrounding us. I was always into adventure sports, travel and astronomy. I have followed India’s history with interest. Music is giving me a chance to interpret these passions differently.
What films are you working on?
The last one was 12th Fail. The film got a tremendous response, and everyone liked the music. Normally I try and stick to one film a year, maybe two. I am seeing a few scripts now. Nothing has been finalised but something will happen. I have been lucky to get some good films like 3 Idiots, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Pink, Parineeta, October. If a film does well, we’re happy.
